Another Restaurant (if Not More) May Be Destined for Seattle Center

The city is seeking vendors for the International Fountain Pavilion.

The International Fountain Pavilion: from crafts to craft cocktails—possibly. Photo courtesy seattlecenter.com.

In the past year a number of notable restaurant projects have taken shape on city properties. Marination took over the Seacrest Boathouse to create Marination Ma Kai. (No easy feat, that.) The Armory, formerly known as the humdrum Seattle Center House, morphed into an undeniably awesome food court boasting the likes of Skillet, Eltana, Pie, and more.

Now the execs at Seattle Center are hoping to transform another facility to similar success. On Friday they put out a call for tenants for the International Fountain Pavilion. The bi-level, 4,500-square-foot structure, currently vacant, was built in 1962 for the World's Fair and has since housed the Northwest Crafts Center and a temporary MOHAI exhibit.

A release notes that the RFP process will consider a "broad range of proposals," though communications director Deborah Daoust did point out, "The building could make for an amazing eating/drinking destination."

When asked what one such establishment might look like, Daoust listed Collections Cafe, the teahouse in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, or the Chinese Pagoda Restaurant in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens as examples. Could the ample square footage accommodate several merchants? "We are open to what the world might present so if multiple vendors presented a proposal, it would be considered," she added. Seattle Center hopes to make a selection by April 8.

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